The Verge

Google's Gemini app now lets you generate Audio Overviews based on Deep Research. That means you can turn the in-depth reports generated by Gemini into a conversational podcast featuring two AI hosts." Since launching Audio Overviews within its AI note-taking app NotebookLM last September, Google has been steadily adding to the feature by letting you [...]

Meta has aggressively pushed to discredit and silence Sarah Wynn-Williams, the author of Careless People, her memoir about working at the company as a policy director. Now, sheas fighting back. Attorneys for Wynn-Williams this week filed an emergency motion seeking to dismiss the gag order that Meta won via an arbitrator. A copy of her [...]

After immigration agents detained Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil over his involvement in pro-Palestine protests on campus, President Donald Trump promised it was just the beginning. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has since arrested at least two more students who are in the country on visas a one of whom had recently sued [...]

Samsung has confirmed to The Verge that a software update error" is what broke certain 2024 soundbar devices," per a statement from Jim Kiczek, head of audio at Samsung Electronics America. Kiczek says that Samsung is offering free repairs for all affected units - regardless of warranty status." Last week, many owners of Samsung soundbars, [...]

The new souped-up Alexa voice assistant, Alexa Plus, is scheduled to arrive in the next few weeks in an early access preview. The good news is that as long as you have (or buy) an Echo Show 8, 10, 15, or 21 smart display, you'll be able to use the generative-AI powered Alexa across any [...]

The AI search startup Perplexity just proposed a bid for acquiring (and transforming) TikTok, per a company blog post published Friday. aPerplexity is singularly positioned to rebuild the TikTok algorithm without creating a monopoly, combining world-class technical capabilities with Little Tech independence,a the company wrote. They claim they're uniquely positioned to do this awithout creating [...]

TechCrunch has a new owner, again. Yahoo has sold the tech news site to the private equity firm Regent for an undisclosed sum, according to an announcement on Friday. Regent is the same company that snapped up Foundry, the firm behind outlets like PCWorld, Macworld, and TechAdvisor on Thursday.Founded in 2005, TechCrunch has experienced many [...]

Not satisfied with effectively buying a co-president role in Donald Trump's administration, Elon Musk has turned his attention - and money - towards a key race in the swing state of Wisconsin. The billionaire's America PAC is claiming to give $100 to registered voters who sign a petition against activist judges." It's not the first [...]

Alongside beefy wall chargers that can power up several devices simultaneously, Anker continues to refine the design and engineering of its basic single-port USB-C AC adapters making them smaller and smaller. Its new Nano 45W charger is now just 1.45 inches long and weighs 52 grams, which is about 17 grams lighter than the last [...]

At a surprise all-hands-on meeting Thursday night in Texas, Tesla CEO Elon Musk rallied up his company's employees as the brand's public reputation continues to plummet, Business Insider reports. At the livestreamed meeting, Musk told employees to hang on to your stock" - which declined in value by 50 percent since December - and promised [...]

In a true sign of a vibe shift in Washington, a DC bar beloved by Republican staffers announced that it was shuttering its doors a and will reportedly be replaced by a bar that famously accepts Bitcoin as payment. Local news site PoPville first reported on Thursday that a DC outpost of Pubkey, a bar [...]

Bigscreen has just revealed the Beyond 2, a custom-fit virtual-reality headset with a 116-degree field of view it claims is wider than the Meta Quest 3 and Valve Index. The wired headset weighs just 107 grams (~3.8 ounces) and starts at $1,019, but you'll have to pay extra if you want eye-tracking capabilities. The Bigscreen [...]

Chicago's WBEZ is among 13 NPR and PBS member radio stations being investigated by the Federal Communications Commission as the Trump administration looks to tighten its control over public news organizations. The probes launched by FCC Chair Brendan Carr in January focus on whether on-air sponsorships aired by NPR and PBS-affiliated broadcasters comply with regulations [...]

GM is shutting down a dealership service that offered the installation of a third-party Apple CarPlay upgrade kit for its EVs, citing concerns that the product could affect critical safety features" in its vehicles, The Drive reports. A spokesperson from GM told The Drive that Aftermarket services that introduce features not originally designed, thoroughly tested, [...]

Coca-Cola is installing what the company claims to be the world's first hydrogen-powered vending machines at the World Expo 2025, which will open to the public in Osaka, Japan, on April 13th, 2025. Co-developed by Fuji Electric, the machines don't need access to a power outlet and instead rely on replaceable hydrogen cartridges to fuel [...]

The popularity of Pokemon cards depicting shiny monsters is one of the reasons that physical packs have become so much harder to find in the wild these days. The Pokemon Company has been trying to figure out ways to solve the real world scarcity / scalping problem for a while now, but that shouldn't be [...]

Rest easy: we don't have another Lost on our hands. As beloved as that classic mystery box show was, it was equally frustrating for the way it teased big secrets with answers that either underwhelmed or never came. With the mysteries in Severance piling up since its first season, viewers have had every right to [...]

President Trump wanted to ban TikTok. Now he wants to save TikTok. There might even be a plan to save TikTok, though right now it feels more like a aconcepts of a plana situation. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to press hard on regulating Big Tech, while also cozying up to their CEOs a and [...]

Severance's season 2 finale debuts on Apple TV Plus today - but don't worry, there's still more to come. In a reply to producer Ben Stiller, Apple CEO Tim Cook posted a video confirming the series renewal, saying Season 3 of Severance is available upon request." Even though there was a three-year gap between the [...]

Samsung's next Fan Edition" Tab S10 devices have been leaked, revealing specs and prices for the mid-range tablets. WinFuture.de acquired leaked marketing images and details for the Samsung Galaxy Tab S10 FE and Galaxy Tab S10 FE Plus, which are value flagship" tablet options slotting under the Tab S10 Plus and Tab S10 Ultra. The [...]

A privacy complaint has been filed against OpenAI by a Norwegian man who claims that ChatGPT described him as a convicted murderer who killed two of his own children and attempted to kill a third. Arve Hjalmar Holmen says that he wanted to find out what ChatGPT would say about him, but was presented with [...]

London's Heathrow airport has shut down after having its power crippled by an immense fire at a nearby electrical substation, throwing thousands of global flights into chaos. Heathrow announced that it will remain closed until at least midnight on Friday to maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues," and that there will be no [...]

Nightdive Studios is making good on a six-year-old promise: a remastered version of the classic Looking Glass game System Shock 2. Nightdive and Sony revealed a trailer for System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster, as well as a release date of June 26th for PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 4 and [...]

As reports of vandalism and even a supposed doxing website targeting Tesla locations and vehicles continue to appear, Attorney General Pam Bondi issued a new warning about old crimes. In a Department of Justice press release, she announced charges against three individuals responsible for the violent destruction of Tesla properties." It didn't mention that all [...]

Google is taking down 10,000 fake business listings from Google Maps and suing a network of scammers who set them up, CBS News reports. The company's lawsuit alleges that a man connected to a broader scam network created fake business profiles on Google Maps and sold them for profit. Google was tipped off by a [...]

Apple TV Plus is losing more than $1 billion every year despite reaching 45 million subscribers in 2024, according to a report from The Information. It's reportedly the only Apple subscription that isn't generating a profit. As part of an effort to take a harder line on spending," Apple cut its initial $5 billion budget [...]

Segway has issued a recall for all of its Ninebot Max G30P and Max G30LP electric scooters due to a faulty mechanism that can cause the scooters' handlebars and stem to fold while it's in use, creating a fall hazard, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The company has received 68 reports of [...]

Comcast and Charter's mobile services now offer access to satellite-based emergency messaging. The launch comes just one day after their network provider, Verizon, rolled out satellite messaging for Samsung Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 9 devices. Just like with Verizon, customers on Comcast's Xfinity Mobile and Charter's Spectrum Mobile will need a Galaxy S25 or [...]

Netflixas gaming strategy to date has been scattershot. Since Netflix gaming debuted in 2021, the streamer has launched indie darlings, streaming tie-ins, and blockbuster ports. There have been studio acquisitions, attempts at original AAA games, and experiments with cloud streaming. A few years on, itas not entirely clear what the strategy is a or if [...]

The European Union has outlined exactly how Apple needs to improve the interoperability of iOS, and the guidance reveals which features could be available to other smartwatches, headphones, and speakers. The specifications adopted by the European Commission on Tuesday explain exactly how Apple needs to open iPhone and iPad operating systems to comply with the [...]

Microsoft revealed earlier this year that it's combining the best of Xbox and Windows together" for handhelds, and now the company is starting to drop the first hints at what that UI might look like. In a blog post about Xbox opening a billion doors," Microsoft briefly revealed a new Xbox UI that looks a [...]

On Tuesday, the president of the United States fired the Democratic commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission in clear contravention of what has been the law since 1935. News outlets aincluding The Verge a allwent up with their articles as fast as they could. The headlines and stories across the board were pretty similar; the [...]

In an effort to improve the chances of finding the email you're looking for, Google is introducing an optional AI-powered upgrade for Gmail's search function. Google searches will no longer just return results in chronological order based solely on the keywords you're searching for, but will instead also take into account other criteria, including recency, [...]

Five major video game companies, including Nintendo of America and Microsoft, are joining a major new cross-industry effort" managed by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) to share clearer information about the accessibility features in their games. As part of the Accessible Games Initiative," the five founding members" - Electronic Arts, Google, Microsoft, Nintendo of America, [...]

The Google Pixel 9A may have the same Tensor G4 chip as its more expensive counterparts, but it comes with a text-only version of Gemini AI. Google confirmed to Ars Technica that the Pixel 9A doesn't have access to certain features, like the AI-powered Pixel Screenshots app, because of the phone's lower 8GB of memory. [...]

Zagg's new Six-Port Media Hub expands connectivity of iPads, Android tablets, and other mobile devices with a handful of extra ports, including HDMI and a pair of memory card slots. Potentially even more useful is the dedicated set of three playback buttons on the front for pausing or skipping through music and videos. The Zagg [...]

The weather is getting warmer, so it's time to go out, take a walk, and listen to your favorite audio tracks - and a good way to do that is with the Pixel Buds Pro 2. Google's latest pair of wireless earbuds are currently on sale at Amazon, Best Buy, and the Google Store for [...]

Honda and its luxury brand Acura are getting access to more than 20,000 Tesla Superchargers in North America starting in June for their Prologue and ZDX EVs. Both brands will also sell their own EV charging adapters for an undisclosed price through dealerships. The new Honda and Acura branded adapters that convert their vehicles' existing [...]

Meta is finally allowing Threads users to set the following feed or any custom feeds as the default. The change is part of a number of new Threads features, including the ability to now limit post replies to followers only, a better video player, and the option to add topics in your bio. Threads users [...]

Apple is replacing the head of Siri, shortly after pushing back the rollout of its highly-anticipated AI features, according to a report from Bloomberg. Mike Rockwell, the head of Vision Pro development, will reportedly replace John Giannandrea as the leader of AI and Siri. The move comes after Apple CEO Tim Cook lost confidence" in [...]

TikTok will now show AMBER Alerts in the US. If there's a missing child in your area, you'll see an AMBER Alert directly within your For You feed. In the example shared by TikTok, the AMBER Alert shows a photo of the child, along with relevant details and an option to call 911. TikTok is [...]

After trying to woo artists and creative types away from the iPad with its Magic Drawing Pad, XP-Pen has announced a new Android-based note-taking alternative to the Amazon Kindle Scribe and Remarkable tablets. Unlike those digital notebooks, which are appealing because they lack traditional displays, the XP-Pen Magic Note Pad uses a full-color LCD instead [...]

It's not every day you see a tech executive lightly dunk on their competitors, but this week, Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos was feeling a little bold. In an interview with Variety, Sarandos touched on the Max versus HBO name change, sized up Prime Video as a competitor, and expressed confusion over Apple TV Plus, a [...]

LG is shutting down Art Lab, its NFT marketplace for TVs. In a notice posted to its website, LG says it has made the difficult decision" to close the platform on June 17th. LG launched its Art Lab app during the NFT craze in 2022, billing it as a way to buy, sell and enjoy [...]

Discord is bringing third-party ads to its mobile platform. The gaming-focused voice and chat app announced that a mobile pilot for Video Quests - ads that allow Discord users to earn rewards like avatar decorations and in-game items by watching a video - will launch in June 2025, after rolling out on PC and consoles [...]

Tesla has issued a recall for 46,096 Cybertrucks in the US to fix a fault that was causing the steel trim on some vehicles to come loose or fly off while driving. The recall applies to every Cybertruck manufactured between November 13th, 2023, and February 27th, 2025, according to the report filed with the US [...]

When asked what they do for work, creative couple Jessie Char and Maxwell Neely-Cohen should probably just say ayes.a True professional multihyphenates, Charas gig history includes stints as a UI/UX designer, conference organizer, concert cellist, and Apple Genius; Neely-Cohen is a novelist, ballet dancer, and coeditor of the experimental literary journal The HTML Review. Together, [...]

Today we're talking about the protests against Tesla, which have been branded on social media under the hashtag Tesla Takedown. The protests are, of course, a reaction to Elon Musk, who has managed to install himself as basically a not-so-shadow president who is tearing the federal government apart, leaving confusion and destruction in his wake. [...]

Mobile card games like Pokemon TCG Pocket and Marvel Snap have proven that folks are willing to fork over real money for digital collectibles if they're presented in just the right way, and now, Bandai Namco wants to get in on the action. During this year's Digimon Con livestream presentation, Bandai Namco announced that it [...]